Kidnapped
by SouthernChickie
Summary: How bad can being grounded in Scotland be?" Famous last words. Sequel to Abandonment. Complete.
1. Default Chapter

AN: This is the much asked for sequel to Abandonment. Not imperative you read it first, but wouldn't hurt. Hope you enjoy. Please R&R  
  
Richie sat happily in his first class seat staring out the window. Things had been very rough for him the past couple of months. Duncan, with all the best of intentions, had abandoned him in New York with Conner. Richie had. fallen in with a bad crowd. Long story short he still craved a good fix every now and then, his arms and back hurt from when Duncan and Conner had to pin him to the floor to scrub off his henna tattoos, and he swore he could still smell the dye Rachel had used to turn his hair back to blonde from black and blue. But, things were looking up for him. Duncan and Tessa had come back for him and he was taking his first trip to Scotland.  
  
Sure Duncan had just promised he was grounded as soon as the plane landed, but how bad could being grounded in Scotland be?  
  
"And before you get any bright ideas about how you can't be grounded on vacation, let me tell you how this is going to work," Duncan said in the seat beside him.  
  
Richie sighed and looked at the man who weeks before Conner had refused to let him see. Conner had taken his rule seriously and had even gone so far as to cover Richie's eyes when Duncan went into his hospital room. "Lay it on me."  
  
"Unless I say otherwise you are confined to your hotel room; I already told them to take out the TV. No exploring on your own, no going out with any girls, no making friends and trying to go to a club."  
  
"So I'm either on a Mac approved field trip or I'm in my room," Richie said.  
  
"Yes. Also I know that you are legal to drink in Scotland, but in light of recent events I don't think you're mature enough for the responsibility."  
  
Richie started to argue, but thought better of it. "Anything else?"  
  
"You're not going to have much time in the hotel room anyway; I have a lot to show you." Duncan smiled and ruffled Richie's hair. "I think you're going to have fun, but you're still in trouble."  
  
"Okay."  
  
"Now, why don't you try to get some sleep? The time difference is going to kill you if you don't."  
  
"Is this part of my punishment?" Richie asked as the TV screen in the headrest in front of him beckoned him to flip through the in-flight movies. His hand reached for the remote nestled in the armrest.  
  
Duncan pushed the armrest back and put an arm around Richie's shoulders. "Yes. No TV," he said pulling Richie to his side.  
  
At first Richie resisted, but then set his head on Duncan's shoulder. "Jerk," he said for duty.  
  
"Go to sleep." Duncan's main objective was to get Richie to sleep. He had been worried about the threats he had gotten from the gang he had almost joined and his sleep had been constantly interrupted by nightmares.  
  
Richie snuggled a little into Duncan's chest and closed his eyes. He felt Duncan put a blanket over him just before he fell asleep. The next thing Richie knew he was being gently shook awake.  
  
"Hey, Rich, wake up," Duncan said. "We're about to land." It took Richie a minute to wake up enough to sit up and realize where he was. "Look out the window," Duncan told him.  
  
Richie pulled open the window shade and squinted until he got used to the light. Miles beneath them were lakes surrounded by lush green lands. It was like flying over one giant postcard. "You grew up here?"  
  
"Close enough," Duncan told him. "My village is actually north still. We have to drive the rest of the way."  
  
"Oh. I don't suppose I could drive?" Richie asked hopefully.  
  
"No, you're grounded."  
  
"It was worth a try."  
  
A little while later Duncan was pulling Richie along behind him through the airport terminals. "You don't have to look out every window we pass," Duncan told him, trying his best to sound irritated. In reality he reveled in the fact that Richie was already totally in love with his home country. For a boy that claimed he was only meant for the city, he sure was easily distracted by trees. "The faster we get our luggage the faster we can get outside."  
  
"Okay." Richie quickened his pace so he was almost matching Duncan stride for stride despite his shorter legs.  
  
They collected their luggage and went to get their rental car.  
  
"How many drivers?" the woman behind the counter asked.  
  
"Two," Duncan told her giving Richie a nudge. "In case you get off for good behavior," he winked. Duncan handed over the necessary papers and soon they were crammed in a small Scottish car.  
  
Richie opened his window and let the air hit his face as Duncan drove down the streets. "The air smells funny," he said after a few miles.  
  
"No smog," Duncan told him. "In this part of Scotland the towns are small and people rarely drive. So there is much less pollution."  
  
"Oh. So how much longer til we get to Glenn. Glenn."  
  
"Glenn Finnan," Duncan supplied.  
  
"Yeah, there."  
  
"A couple hours, yet. Bored already?"  
  
"Just curious," Richie told him as he rubbed his right arm.  
  
"Does it hurt?" Duncan asked. Just a few weeks before Richie's arm had been broken.  
  
"A little. I think it's the pressure change from the plane to the ground."  
  
"Can you wait until we get to the hotel or do you want me to stop so you can get some Tylenol?"  
  
"I can wait. It should be fine soon."  
  
"Okay, if you change your mind tell me."  
  
"I will."  
  
They rode in silence. "Is this what it looked like when you were young?" Richie asked looking out at the country side.  
  
"We're in a valley right now, I grew up in the mountains."  
  
"Oh. so what does it look like?"  
  
"Very green and very open. Lots of space for a child to get into trouble in. That's why you're never going to be out of my sight."  
  
"Yes, sir, Warden MacLeod," Richie said with a solute. Despite the tension and uneasiness that was plaguing their relationship, both had opted to pretend nothing had ever happened. It seemed to be working. Richie picked up a brochure he had gotten at the air port and flipped through it. "So is everyone going to be impressed that I'm here with Duncan MacLeod of the clan MacLeod?" he asked after a few minutes.  
  
"Everyone will think I'm named after a legend. They will also assume that I am nothing but a tourist with a fake accent."  
  
"Are the Scottish really that mean?"  
  
"Around here people are a little weary of foreigners," Duncan explained. "Between, myself, Conner and a dozen or so other immortals that died their first death on these lands there are plenty of ghost and myth hunters lurking around every corner."  
  
"So are you really a myth?"  
  
"Yes. Some people say that the MacLeod clan is cursed and spirits of those that came back to life and were banished from the clan haunt their descendants."  
  
"Really?"  
  
"I'm sure you will hear at least some of the horrible things my ghost has done while we're here. I usually get an earful. Apparently my spirit is lost because once I was banished from the clan I had no where to go."  
  
"So he stayed on his home lands for all eternity," Richie finished in a spooky voice. "That's really lame."  
  
"Yes, but many locals believe the legends."  
  
"Hey, look at this!" Richie exclaimed pointing to a page in the brochure. "There's a haunted tour!"  
  
"Richie you don't believe in ghosts do you?"  
  
"No, of course not. I just like to hear the stories. It would be fun. Can we go?"  
  
"We'll see."  
  
"It goes through Glenn Finnan! 'Where the curse of the MacLeod clan as born'," he read. "'See where Conner and Duncan MacLeod are buried and where their restless spirits wonder.' Too cool! Please can we go?"  
  
Richie's excitement was more than Duncan could handle. "You can book it yourself when we get to the hotel," Duncan told him.  
  
Richie asked questions and Duncan told stories all the way to the hotel. "This is it," Duncan said pulling up.  
  
"I thought you said it was a small town," Richie said. It looked like every other city he'd ever been in.  
  
"Glenn Finnan is, this is Charles' Valley. It was named after."  
  
"Bonnie Prince Charlie," Richie interrupted with a grin.  
  
"Right," Duncan smiled at him. "There are no hotels in the village so instead of making you camp out for two weeks I thought we could drive to the village and stay here."  
  
"Okay."  
  
Richie's room was adjoined to Duncan's with a common door. It could be locked but Duncan took that key from Richie. "Just so I can keep an eye on you," he had told him putting the key in his pocket.  
  
"What about when I'm changing?"  
  
"You can close it, you just can't lock it."  
  
"Oh."  
  
They ate dinner at the hotel restaurant before Duncan told Richie to go to bed. They were going to be leaving early the next day so Duncan could take him to a recreation of the type of village Duncan had grown up in. With minimal grumbling Richie took a shower and went to bed. Despite his insistence that he wasn't tired yet, he fell asleep not long after his head hit the pillow. 


	2. Bridgett

"It's smaller than my first grade class room," Richie said as Duncan showed him one of the huts in the recreated village.  
  
"It is meant for a small family," Duncan told him.  
  
"Is this like your house?" Richie asked. No one else was in the hut with them so he felt no need to sensor what he said.  
  
"Yes. My bed was here," he pointed to the wall left of the entrance, and my parents slept here," he pointed to the wall opposite.  
  
"Isn't it a little dangerous to cook inside a hut made of grass and mud?" Richie asked looking at the fire circle in the middle of the room.  
  
"Only when it rained did we cook inside. And even then only if it wasn't going to let up soon."  
  
"So you and your parents all lived in the same room?"  
  
"My whole mortal life."  
  
"What happened when they wanted to. you know. give you a little brother or sister?"  
  
"I imagine they did that every time my cousins and I slept out side in the summer and spring."  
  
"I bet everyone was pregnant at the same time if all the kids slept out of the house on the same night."  
  
"Come to think of it. yes. All of the children of the clan had at least two or three cousins the same age. Good point."  
  
"What if you wanted a pet?" Richie asked as Duncan led him back out side.  
  
"Then you named your live stock. I had a goat and two pigs."  
  
Richie smiled "What were their names?"  
  
"I named the pigs after my parents, Ian and Mary, and my goat was named after a man in a story my grandfather told me," he said with a smile.  
  
"Does Conner know you named a goat after him?" Richie asked.  
  
"I don't think so."  
  
"I'm telling then!" Richie laughed. "I bet he nearly dies when he finds out!"  
  
"I bet he doesn't even care."  
  
They spent the rest of the morning exploring the village. Duncan would tell Richie stories about what happened to him and what it had been like to grow up in such a place.  
  
After an 'authentic' ancient highland lunch (the Duncan complained they would have never had unless celebrating a marriage) they went back to the hotel to meet the tour guide for the haunted tour Richie was so excited about.  
  
By the time they made it to Duncan's grave Richie was practically in hysterics. The tour guide and other people in the ground kept giving him funny looks. Every now and then Richie would whisper something to Duncan who couldn't help but crack a smile.  
  
"This is where the most sightings take place," the tour guide said. "This is where Duncan MacLeod was killed in 1629 in a clan war."  
  
"It was 1627," Duncan whispered in Richie's ear. "And it had to have been five miles north of here." That sent Richie into another fit of giggles.  
  
"He has been known to warn passers by of rival clansmen hiding around the bend."  
  
"That's very thoughtful of you, Mac."  
  
"I thought so."  
  
"There are also repots of his ghost trying to kill those who unwittingly wonder onto his lands in wearing unfriendly colors."  
  
"Now if I did that, this guy I know would ground me."  
  
"I don't think you can ground spirits."  
  
"This guy would try," Richie assured him.  
  
"Duncan's kinsman, Conner prefers to haunt a near by inn where it is believed that he stayed when he had been banished from the clan."  
  
"There were no inns in this area," Duncan told Richie. "Conner built his own hut and married Heather."  
  
"Man, these people need to get their facts straight," Richie said shaking his head. "These are nothing by Scottish urban legends."  
  
"What do you say we sneak away and I show you around some more?" Duncan offered.  
  
"Okay," Richie agreed.  
  
They got back on the bus and snuck away in the next town.  
  
"How are we gonna get back to the hotel?" Richie asked as they walked down the street.  
  
"Don't worry about that. This may not be what you're used to but there are still buses and taxis."  
  
Twenty minutes later they were on a bus back to Charles' Valley. They found a small restaurant when they got back and sat down to an early dinner.  
  
"Don't even think about it," Duncan warned when he noticed Richie staring at a girl a few tables away. "No dates, you're grounded."  
  
"Can't I just look?" Richie asked.  
  
"I've never seen it happen," Duncan teased.  
  
"Look, I'm not going to ask her out. I'm just." he trailed off as the girl looked over at him and smiled. He gave her a crooked half grin and a slight wave. She waved back and giggled when he jumped because Duncan had kicked him under the table. Richie glared and kicked him back.  
  
"Don't get any ideas," Duncan told him.  
  
"I'm not, I was just saying hi. or am I not allowed to do that?"  
  
"I'm debating."  
  
After dinner they went back to the hotel and Richie flopped down on his bed to stare at the ceiling. The hotel had not been able to remove the TV, but Duncan had taken the remote and unplugged it. After a while Richie took a shower and went to bed.  
  
The next day was reserved for seeing the more historic places in Charles' Valley. They were in some sort of little of museum when Richie noticed the girl from the restaurant watching him.  
  
"Ah, Mac? Did you see a bathroom around here?" Richie knew where the bathroom was. the girl was standing next to it. Duncan directed him and told him he'd wait in the same general area. "You're following me," he said to the girl as he approached.  
  
"You're American!" she said in surprise.  
  
"Is that bad?"  
  
"No, I just wasn't expecting it. But I should have known, your clothes, mannerisms."  
  
"So you have been following me."  
  
"I have been hoping to run into you. I was also hoping you would think it was a coincidence."  
  
"I think it's a coincidence that you've been following me," he offered. "Because I've been looking for you."  
  
"You have?"  
  
"Yeah."  
  
"I know this is rather forward of me. but I hear you American boys like a girl with guts. would you like to have dinner?"  
  
"Yes," Richie answered immediately, then cast a nervous glance over his shoulder. "God. Mac. I can't."  
  
"But you said."  
  
"I'm grounded."  
  
"Grounded?" she repeated, her thick accent almost distorting the word.  
  
"Um. No phone, no TV, no dating."  
  
"Oh, you're on restriction."  
  
"Yeah, I guess." He looked over his shoulder again.  
  
"Is that your father?" she asked him.  
  
Richie paused. "Sorta. look I better get back before he comes looking for me."  
  
"What hotel are you staying in? Surely there is not a no visitors rule?"  
  
Richie smiled. "I like the way you think. The Valley Inn, room 213. Eight?"  
  
"Sure."  
  
Richie looked at his watch for the fifth time in twenty minutes.  
  
"What's wrong with you?" Duncan asked.  
  
"Um. well, you see, I."  
  
"What did you do? And when did you do it?"  
  
"This afternoon."  
  
"Answer the important question."  
  
"The important thing is technically I didn't do anything wrong."  
  
"If it's not yours it's steeling."  
  
Richie rolled his eyes. "I didn't steel anything. I actually gave something."  
  
"What?"  
  
"My room number," Richie mumbled.  
  
"To who?" Before Richie had a chance to answer Duncan did it for him. "What's her name?"  
  
"Her name? I didn't ask."  
  
"So you gave your room number to a stranger?"  
  
"No. She asked me out."  
  
"Richie."  
  
"And I told her I was grounded, then I had to tell her what grounded was. you never said I couldn't have someone over!" he finished.  
  
"When you're grounded at home do I let you have people over?" Duncan asked.  
  
"No," Richie answered quietly.  
  
"So what made you think this was any different?"  
  
Richie's shoulders slumped in defeat. "Can I be the one to send her home at least?"  
  
"Sure. When is she coming?"  
  
"Eight."  
  
Duncan looked at his watch. "Then we better pay the bill."  
  
The girl was standing in front of Richie's door when he and Duncan came down the hall.  
  
"Sorry," he said. "We had a late dinner."  
  
"It's okay. It's nice to meet you Mr." she offered Duncan her hand.  
  
"MacLeod," he told her shaking it. "And you are?"  
  
"Bridgett MacDaniels."  
  
"It's nice to meet you Bridgett." He turned to Richie. "Five minutes."  
  
Richie waited for Duncan to go into his room before leading Bridgett down the hall to a bench. "I'm Richie," he started.  
  
"That's very American," she smiled at him.  
  
"Look. Mac said I can't have anyone here. So you have to go," he rushed out.  
  
"He also said we have five minutes," she reminded him. "So I don't have to be going right now do I?"  
  
Richie smiled. "I guess not."  
  
"So why don't we plan a way to get you out of here?"  
  
"Me? Sneak out past Mac? Do you have any idea how impossible that is? He has like. Richie radar. The guy always knows where I am."  
  
"It was just an idea," she shrugged. "I wanted to go dancing at this club. and thought maybe I could talk your father into letting you come."  
  
"Not gonna happen. He'll notice."  
  
"Then I guess I might as well go. There's obviously nothing either one of us can do." She leaned over and kissed Richie and held on longer than necessary.  
  
"There's no harm in trying," Richie offered with a shy smile. 


	3. Kennel!

"Give me a couple minutes," Richie whispered before Bridgett left. He went into his room, stalked past the open door to Duncan's and fell face first onto his bed.  
  
"Everything okay, tough guy?" Duncan asked.  
  
"Emupghf," Richie said into his pillow.  
  
"What was that?"  
  
"Emupghf!"  
  
"I can't understand you," Duncan insisted trying not to laugh. It was hard not to laugh when Richie got mad. He acted like a child. Richie propped himself up on his elbows and glared at Duncan. Sighing, Duncan went over and sat on Richie's bed. "So you're mad?"  
  
"No."  
  
"Yes, you are."  
  
"Are you surprised?"  
  
"Not really."  
  
"Why couldn't she just hang out for a while?"  
  
"Because you're in trouble."  
  
"It's not fair."  
  
"What isn't fair? You did something wrong and you're being punished for it. That's how it works. Has for generations."  
  
"You would know."  
  
"Yes, I do. Sorry, Rich. Just a little bit longer."  
  
"I can't talk you out of this?"  
  
"Nope. You're grounded and that means no girls."  
  
Richie threw his face into his pillow again. "Muhlibicrpyuknthama!"  
  
"Say again?"  
  
"Yureuhnnatysnoabit!"  
  
"So. you're just going to lay in here and be mad?"  
  
"Raotflmfaopmpacgu!"  
  
"Okay. see you in the morning, then." Duncan got up and left the room closing the door behind him. Richie would want his privacy.  
  
Richie kept still for a few seconds then looked up. "And the Oscar goes to." he congratulated himself as he got up. He changed his clothes and washed his face. Then went to the balcony. He peeked to the right and saw that Duncan's curtains were closed. "Score," he mumbled, closing the sliding glass door.  
  
The hotel was built into a hill. While technically their rooms were on the second floor, Richie only had a few feet to drop from his balcony. Bridgett was waiting for him around the corner.  
  
"You ready?" he asked putting an arm around her.  
  
"You made it. I thought you said you could never sneak past him."  
  
"I did pretty well in theater in high school. Guess all those rehearsals paid off.  
  
. . . . . .  
  
"I miss you, too," Duncan said into the phone.  
  
"How is Richie?" Tessa asked on the other end.  
  
"Pouting."  
  
"What did you do?"  
  
"Nothing. He's mad because I'm not letting him go out with some girl he met. Last I checked, he was in his room putting on a big show of being mad."  
  
"I want to talk to him."  
  
"I'll get him." Duncan got up and knocked on the door between their rooms. "Rich?" he called. "Tessa's on the phone. She wants to talk to you." There was no answer. "Richie?" He opened the door to the empty room. "I don't believe him!" He went back to the phone. "Looks like someone just lost his chance for parole."  
  
"What did he do?" Tessa sighed.  
  
"He's not here."  
  
"He snuck out?"  
  
"Yes. He is going to have a lot of explaining to do when he sneaks back in, too."  
  
"Don't be too hard on him," Tessa said.  
  
"Why not? He deliberately disobeyed me."  
  
"Why is he grounded?" she asked patiently.  
  
"You know why, Tess. For what he did in New York."  
  
"And why was he in New York?"  
  
"Because of me," Duncan sighed. "I'm at least going to give him a good scare."  
  
. . . . . .  
  
Richie and Bridgett walked hand in hand down the dark Charles Valley streets.  
  
"I haven't done that in a while," Bridgett laughed, hanging on Richie's arm.  
  
"And you almost got my ass kicked for it," Richie reminded her. "How am I supposed to explain a black eye if Mac thinks I've been sulking in my room all night?"  
  
"You don't have a black eye."  
  
"What if I got one? Mac would freak."  
  
"But you don't."  
  
"What if I did?"  
  
"But you don't!"  
  
"But I could!"  
  
"Then you'd be in trouble."  
  
"And you be home laughing your butt off at me."  
  
"Yes," she smiled up at him.  
  
"Fat lota help you are." They walked quietly for a few blocks. "Man, this city shuts down fast. Where's a taxi when you need one?" Through the course of the evening they had wondered clear across the city from the hotel.  
  
"Maybe they can give us a ride," Bridgett said flagging down a conveniently passing car. The first car they had seen since they left the club.  
  
"What the hell are you doing?" Richie snapped grabbing her arm. "You can't just wave down some stranger to pick you up in the middle of the night!" The call pulled to a stop beside them. "She was just joking," he said as the window rolled down. "Sorry to bother you."  
  
"Bridgett? Bridgett MacDaniels?"  
  
"Ian?" Bridgett asked bending over to get a better view of the driver.  
  
"What are you doing out so late, lass?" Ian asked.  
  
"We went to a club. Can you give us a ride?"  
  
"I don't think this is such a good idea," Richie said. Something about Ian made him uneasy.  
  
"Don't be daft," Bridgett laughed. "Ian used to work for my father."  
  
"And I'd be happy to give you both a ride," Ian said with a smile. "Get in."  
  
Bridgett looked at Richie. "Fine," he sighed. "But we're taking you home first." He didn't want to leave Bridgett alone with this guy, even if she did trust him. There was something about him that made Richie go on alert.  
  
They both got into the backseat. Ian turned the car around and headed for Bridgett's house. Richie judged the situation by her reactions. Apparently everything was okay because she was chatting happily with Ian.  
  
'You've been around Mac too long, Ryan,' Richie told himself. 'You're paranoid. Everyone's not out to get you.' He allowed himself to relax and join the conversation.  
  
Meanwhile Duncan looked at the clock in Richie's room. He had been sitting in the dark for hours waiting for Richie to come back. It was 2:30.  
  
. . . . . .  
  
"Ian, that was the turn," Bridgett said suddenly.  
  
"Was it, now?" Ian asked. There was a click and the doors were locked. "My mistake." Richie reached for the door and pulled on the handle and lock. "Child safety locks. Wouldn't want you wee ones to fall out and hurt yourselves now, would we?"  
  
"I thought you said he worked for your father?" Richie asked Bridgett.  
  
"He did. He was fired a few weeks ago."  
  
"And you never wondered why?"  
  
"No. why were you fired, Ian?"  
  
"None of your business. Just relax and enjoy the ride."  
  
"I told you this was a bad idea!" Richie snapped at Bridgett. "It wasn't much farther back to the hotel. I would have called you a cab or something."  
  
"Don't blame me, you got in, too you know!"  
  
"It was your idea! I was perfectly happy walking!"  
  
"Shut up! Both of you!" Ian waved a gun at them. "I want quiet, do you understand."  
  
They rode in silence the rest of the way. They drove past some mansion like houses, past some farms and onto a dirt road. Richie tried to memorize the way, but everything began to blur together. Then a cabin, much like Duncan's, came into view. Ian honked his horn as he pulled to a stop. Two men came out the front door and stopped by the car. Ian rolled down the window.  
  
"Who's he?" one asked jerking his chin toward Richie.  
  
"He was with her," Ian answered.  
  
"You didn't say anything about a boy," the second said, sounding worried.  
  
"We can handle them," Ian assured him. "Okay, both of you, out. Through that door." He pointed to the one by Bridgett. He unlocked the doors. Bridgett got out and Richie followed her. "Don't make a sound," he warned, pointing his gun at them. "Just get inside."  
  
He pressed the gun into Richie's back as they filed through the open door. They were led past five curious dogs into a back room that had five large, wire dog kennels up along the wall.  
  
Ian opened the door to the first one. "Get in," he told Bridgett, who quietly complied. He closed the cage. "You next," he told Richie opening a second cage.  
  
"No," Richie said boldly.  
  
"Get in," Ian said, pointing his gun directly at Richie's chest.  
  
Richie took a gamble. "No."  
  
"Mickey, Dill, take care of him." Ian groaned.  
  
Ian put the cage up on its back so the door was on top. Mickey grabbed Richie from behind and lifted him up. Dill grabbed his flailing feet and guided them through the small door. The rest of Richie soon followed. Once he was in, the door was closed and padlocked.  
  
"Hey!" Richie protested.  
  
"You two keep quiet. If you don't, I have plenty of things to do it for you," Ian warned. Richie wasn't quite sure what he meant but wasn't in the mood to find out. "Sleep tight." The three men left.  
  
"You okay?" Richie whispered when he saw the light go off under the door.  
  
"What does he want with us?" Bridgett sniffed.  
  
"I don't know."  
  
"Why did you do that?"  
  
"Do what?"  
  
"I thought he was going to kill you; why didn't you just get in?"  
  
"Because now we know he won't kill us. All we have to do is play it cool until I find a way to get us out of here."  
  
"I'm scared."  
  
"Me, too."  
  
. . . . . .  
  
Duncan woke up the next morning having fallen asleep on Richie's bed. He stretched and groaned until he realized where he was and what had happened. or what had not happened. Richie hadn't come back.  
  
"What have you gotten yourself into now?" Duncan groaned getting up. He changed then went to go look for the boy who was asleep twenty miles away in a dog kennel. 


	4. THE END

"WAKE UP!"  
  
Richie jolted awake from his uneasy sleep. He was tempted to try to stretch, but the cage was too confining for it to do any good.  
  
"Why are you doing this?" Richie asked, trying to keep his voice steady.  
  
"Nothing to do with you," Ian assured him. "You are just going to be a little extra collateral. Now I want you to shut up. And you." He fit a key into the lock on Bridgett's cage. "You are going to do a little work around here." He grabbed her by her arm and roughly pulled her out.  
  
"Hey!" Richie barked, his body automatically reacting and trying to spring into action. All he did was hit his head and nearly tip over his little prison. "Leave her alone!"  
  
"Or what?" Ian laughed.  
  
Richie forced himself to calm down. Bridgett was panicking. One of them needed to be level headed. "Look, I'll do whatever you want. Totally silent, no questions asked. Just leave her alone."  
  
"You'll do whatever I ask?" Ian asked, looking at Bridgett who was shaking from head to toe.  
  
"Anything," he agreed. "You just gotta leave her alone."  
  
"Something tells me you can't do what I want her to do."  
  
"I'm a fast learner."  
  
"You know what I want?" Ian leaned toward the cage so only the wire was keeping their noses from touching. "I want you. to SHUT THE HELL UP!" He slammed his hand into the wire grid making Richie jump and nearly fall over backwards. "Heh, heh, heh, good lad."  
  
"Can I just talk to her for a minute alone?" Richie half pleaded.  
  
Ian looked from the trembling girl at his side to the caged American. "You have two minutes."  
  
"Bridgett, come here," Richie said as soon as Ian left the room. "Listen to me. Just go along with them, unless they want sex." Bridgett flinched at the word. "Then you tell them no. If they're desperate, they can come to me. But they have to leave you alone. They won't hurt you, don't worry."  
  
"How do ye kneu?" Her accent was thick.  
  
"Because if they wanted to hurt someone, they would have done it by now. This reeks of ransom. They don't get any money if you're hurt. And don't worry about me; I'm stronger than I look."  
  
"But what if they kill you?"  
  
"They won't." Richie wasn't so sure, but needed her to play it cool.  
  
"How do you know?"  
  
"This has happened to me before," Richie told her. "Mac's a rich guy, people want money. Besides whatever these guys want to dish out. trust me, I've had worse. So don't worry about me. You just look out for number one."  
  
"Time's up!" Ian announced coming back in. "Plan your escape?" he asked shaking Richie's kennel. "Unless you can shrink, I do believe you're stuck."  
  
"One more minute," Richie said.  
  
"Sorry. It's breakfast time and we men are hungry." Ian took Bridgett roughly by the arm and dragged her out of the room.  
  
Richie took his hours alone to come up with a plan of escape. It wasn't going to be easy, but unlike his other kidnapping experiences, Mac wasn't going to rush in to save him anytime soon.  
  
. . . . . .  
  
"Now, how can I help you?" the woman behind the desk asked.  
  
Duncan had been going round with incompetent bureaucrats all day and his patience was completely gone. "You are the ninth person I've stood in line to talk to!" he exploded. "What the hell kind of embassy is this? There is an eighteen year old American boy missing!"  
  
"How long has he been missing?"  
  
"Nearly twenty hours now! Since nine last night."  
  
"Where from?"  
  
"Our hotel in Charles Valley."  
  
"Do you know what happened?"  
  
"If I knew what happened to him, would I be here?" Duncan snapped.  
  
"Mr. MacLeod, all I'm trying to do is see if we can't come up with what happened to." She scanned the papers in front of her. "Richard Ryan."  
  
"He snuck out and disappeared, that's what happened! Now go out and look for him!"  
  
"Mr. MacLeod."  
  
"Yes, I have a cell phone; yes, he knows the number; yes, it works here; yes, he knows how to use a pay phone and phone book," he interrupted answering the questions he had been asked repeatedly all day. "He has no mental problems, is very level headed, can navigate himself through any city in the world without a map, and there is no reason for him to have not contacted me under normal conditions so obviously something is wrong."  
  
"I was going to ask if you have filed a formal report," the woman asked unfazed by the outburst.  
  
"Why didn't someone tell me that in the first place!? I've been going round with you people for hours! Just give me the papers and I'll fill them out!"  
  
"I'm afraid I can't do that. You need to go to office 129 and request.." She didn't to finish her sentence before Duncan was out the door.  
  
. . . . . .  
  
Three days had passed and everything had settled into a routine at the cabin. Every morning Ian would come in yelling and take Bridgett who would cook and clean, and then when they were ready for bed they would just lock her in the room. It was Richie who was stuck in the k-9 prison. By the third evening Bridgett had gotten over her initial fear and would talk to Richie as they figured out how to get the food she brought through the little squares to Richie.  
  
"Hey, they got an office or something out there?" Richie asked after taking the chicken Bridgett was tearing into small pieces for him.  
  
"Yes."  
  
"They let you in there?"  
  
"Yes."  
  
"Is there a guard on you?"  
  
"No."  
  
"Perfect. I need you to get me something."  
  
"No. Richie, you'll make them angry. It's just for a few more days."  
  
"Well, we can make it shorter. If you get me a safety pin, straight pin, paper clip would be best really. I can get us out of here."  
  
"What?"  
  
"All I need to do is pick this lock, and then we can sneak out and make a break for it."  
  
"Richie, we'll get caught."  
  
"Not if you keep quiet and do as I say. We can get out; I know we can."  
  
"Richie."  
  
"Bridgett. Please. At least help me get out of here." He rattled the cage a bit. "Come on, please?"  
  
"I don't know."  
  
"Please, Bridgett. I feel like any day now they're going to cut me into veal parmesan. I can't move."  
  
"It will be over soon."  
  
"Bridgett, please. I gotta get outta here."  
  
"Richie. Richie, I can't. I'm scared. What if they catch us?"  
  
"They won't. Look, if you don't want to run. just see what you can do about getting me out of this damn cage! I feel like I'm about to be shipped off to some alien zoo."  
  
"I can't."  
  
"Bridgett."  
  
"No."  
  
. . . . . .  
  
A week had passed and no word from the embassy except that they had local authorities in on the case. Duncan was going nuts and Tessa had flown in to keep him company.  
  
"He must be so scared," Tessa said, snuggling into Duncan's shoulder as they waited by the phone. "All alone in a foreign country."  
  
"I almost wish an immortal had him," Duncan admitted. "Then at least I could do something other than wait."  
  
"He'll be okay."  
  
"Yeah, I'm sure he's fine," he agreed. "He can't get in any more trouble than he already is now. There's no where to go but up."  
  
. . . . . .  
  
Two more days had passed and Richie was still in his little prison. It was the middle of another lonely afternoon for him when suddenly Ian burst into the room with Bridgett in tow.  
  
"Hey, what are you doing?" Richie demanded.  
  
"Get in there," Ian growled opening the cage he had put Bridgett in the night they had arrived. "If I hear a sound from either one of you, neither of you is ever leaving here, understand?" He left the room.  
  
"What happened?" Richie mouthed.  
  
"Someone knocked on the door," Bridgett mouthed back.  
  
"Who?"  
  
She shrugged. Richie strained his ears for what was happening in the next room. Then he hear the magic words. 'We're from the Charles Valley Police.' The next thing he knew he heard himself screaming for help.  
  
. . . . . .  
  
It had been a routine visit to warn residents of burglaries in the area. The two officers were about to ask about two missing teenagers when they heard yelling coming from a back room. Despite the three men insisting it was just the TV, one officer went to check.  
  
"Hey, there are kids back here!" he called to his partner. "It's Bridgett MacDaniels and that American kid everyone's looking for!"  
  
He broke the locks on the kennels while his partner put the men under arrest. They called for back up and as soon as they had been looked over by medics, Bridgett was sent home and Richie was taken to the embassy. He was in a small bedroom, laying down, stretching his legs and back when Duncan and Tessa arrived.  
  
"Richie!" Tessa rushed into the room. "Are you okay?"  
  
"A little sore and stiff," he admitted propping himself up on his elbows. "And I'm starving."  
  
"Oh, petit, are you hurt?"  
  
"Nope, just hungry."  
  
"We'll get you fed as soon as we can get you out of here," Duncan promised. "And Rich."  
  
"I know, I know, I'm grounded."  
  
"And let this be a lesson to you to take your punishments as they stand. If you had just listened to me, none of this would have happened."  
  
"I know."  
  
"So this time, will you stay put?"  
  
"You bet."  
  
"And Rich?"  
  
"Yeah?" he asked reluctantly.  
  
"I'm glad you're okay. You really had us worried."  
  
"I'm sorry."  
  
"Didn't your mother ever tell you not to accept rides from strangers?"  
  
"Well, yeah. but he had candy," Richie said with a grin. "I'm powerless when it comes to Snickers. And what really blows is I never did get it."  
  
"Well, if you make it through this grounding without incident, I'll get you five."  
  
"Serious?"  
  
"Sure, why not?"  
  
"You heard him, Tess. Five Snickers at the end of the week."  
  
"Who said anything about a week?"  
  
"Maaaac!"  
  
"Duncan, he just spent over a week kidnapped. Don't be so hard on him."  
  
"What? I was going to say the rest of the trip," Duncan said innocently.  
  
"Sure you were, Mac." Richie rolled his eyes. "Sure you were." 


End file.
